Loading and securement system for rail cars

ABSTRACT

Apparatus for securing a plurality of vehicles on the deck of a transport such as a rail car. Guide rails on the deck are engaged by shoes mounted on the underframe of the vehicles to guide the vehicles during loading. Locking means operable from outside the rail car are provided simultaneously to engage the shoes and secure the vehicles on loaded position. The transport is loaded by moving it up to a loading dock which has shoe guide rails adapted to align with the guide rails on the rail car. A loader guided both on the dock and on the transport has dogs engageable with the shoes to advance the vehicles from the dock to the transport.

United States Patent 1 Blunden [111 3,797,410 [451 Mar. 19, 1 974 1 LOADING AND SECUREMENT SYSTEM FOR RAIL CARS [75] Inventor: Donald J. Blunden, Southfield,

Mich.

[73] Assignee: Whitehead & Kalls Company, River Ridge, Mich.

[22] Filed: June 13, 1972 [21] Appl. No.: 262,234

[52] U.S. Cl. 105/368 R, 105/368 T, 214/41, 248/119 R 51 Int. Cl B60p 7/08, B6ld 45/00 [58] Field of Search 105/366 R, 368 R, 368 T, 105/369 A, 366 C; 296/1 A; 248/119 A, 361 i R; 214/41 [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 5/1972 Venditty 105/368 '1 9/197: Blunden et al. 105/368 T 2,415,975 2/1947 Thomson 105/366 C Primary Examiner-Di'aytun E. Hoffman 1 Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Whittemore, Hulbert &

Belknap [57] ABSTRACT Apparatus for securinga plurality of vehicles on the deck of a transport such as a rail car. Guide rails on the deck are engaged by shoes mounted on the underframe of the vehicles to guide the vehicles during loading. Locking means operable from outside the rail car are provided simultaneously to engage the shoes and secure the vehicles on loaded position. The transport is loaded by moving it up to a. loading dock which has shoe guide rails adapted to align with the guide rails on the rail car. A loader guided both on the dock and on the transport has dogs engageable with the shoes to advance the vehicles from the dock to the V I PQI'E.

18 Claims, 12 Drawing Figures SHEET 2 BF 4 PATENTEU UAR l 9 I974 PATENTEDMAR 19 I374 $791 1 SHEU BF 4 /2 I F l 6.1.1. T

BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION This invention makes it possible for a workman to secure a plurality of vehicles on the deck of a rail car without entering the car. The means for securing the vehicles on the deck are operated simultaneously from outside the rail car. Heretofore, a crew of workmen had to enter the rail car to tie down the vehicles. This took considerable time and risked scratching or marring the vehicles. The invention also makes it possible for vehicles to be loaded onto the rail car without drivers. When drivers are used, the rail cars must have sufficient side clearance topermit the vehicle doors to be opened so that the drivers can get out. Rail cars are now being enclosed to protect the vehicles while in transit, thus severely limiting side clearance.

It is among the objects and special features of this in vention to provide shoes on the vehicles engageable with a rail on the deck of the transport to guide the vehicles as they are moved along the deck, and locking means for engaging the shoes to secure the loaded vehicles in selected positions for transit. More particularly, the locking means is adapted to be operated from outside the rail car to simultaneously secure a plurality of the loaded vehicles. In the specific embodiment about to be described, the locking means comprises an elongated bar supported for rotation and having camshaped locking members spaced along the length of the bar and engageable with the shoes to clamp the shoes against the guide rail when the bar is rotated. Accordingly, it is not necessary for a crew to enter the rail car to tie down the vehicles.

Preferably the apparatus also includes a loader for advancing the vehicles from a dock to the rail car, which is completely operable from outside the rail car. Accordingly, drivers are not needed to load the vehicles.

Other objects and features of the invention will become more apparent asthe description proceeds, especially when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic side elevational view showing a rail car backed up to a loading dock in position for loading a line of vehicles onto the lower deck of a trilevel rail car.

FIG. 2 is similar to FIG. 1 but shows the line of vehicles in an intermediate position during loading.

FIG. 3 is similar to FIG. 1 but shows all of the vehicles loaded onto the lower deck of the rail car and the loader partially retracted.

FIG. 4 is similar to FIG. 1 but shows the dock being loaded with another line of vehicles for delivery to the middle deck of the rail car.

FIG. 5 is a semi-diagrammatic top plan view with parts broken away showing vehicles in the process of being loaded from the dock to the rail car.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken on the line 6-6 in FIG. 5.

FIG. 7 is a side elevational view showing a vehicle on the loadingdock just prior to the entry of its guide shoes into the guide channel of the dock.

FIG. 8 is a fragmentary semi-diagrammatic view showing two vehicles being advanced and guided in tandem to a loaded position on the rail car. i

FIG. 9 is an enlarged fragmentary view with parts in section showing a stop which is provided on the loader to engage the front of a shoe and prevent the vehicle from rolling ahead of the pusher dog during loading.

FIG. 10 is a sectional view taken on the line I0-l0 in FlG. 8. 2

FIG. 11 is afragmentary view with parts in section and parts in elevation taken on the line 11-11 in FIG. 10.

FIG. 12 is a fragmentary view partly in elevation and partly in section taken on the line 12-12 in FIG. 11.

Referring now more particularly to the drawings and especially to FIGS. 1 to 4, a rail car 10 supported by wheels 12 on tracks 13 is shown in position for loading in which it is backed up against the discharge end 14 of a loading dock 16 in preparation for the loading of a line of vehicles V from thedock 16 to the lower deck 18 of a rail car. The rail car 10 is shown as a tri-Ievel car having in additionto the elongated lower deck 18, the elongated intermediate deck 20 and the elongated upper deck 22. These .decks as clearly seen extend lengthwise of the transport, preferably are open at both ends of the transport and are of sufficient width and vertical spacing to carrythe vehicles to be transported I with at least minimum clearance. The sides 24 of the transport are enclosed to protect the vehicles during transit.

A pair of laterally spaced parallel rails or channel guides 26 are mounted lengthwise upon the deck 18 of the transport. They are spaced apart a distance somewhat less than the spacing between the groundengaging wheels W of the vehicles V. The chennel guides 26 have the configuration best shown in FIG. 10. They are of generally square tubular form and are open-ended, having their bottom walls rigidly secured upon the deck of the transport. The open ends of the channel guides 26 terminate substantially flush with the ends of the deck 18.

Each channel guide 26 has the laterally spaced upi right side walls 28 terminating at their upper ends in horizontally inturned flanges 30 whose inner edges are spaced from one another to define an elongated slot 32 extending from end to end of the channel guide.

The vehicles V each have front and rear shoes 34 rigidly secured to the underframe portion on each side thereof. The two shoes on one side of the vehicle are disposed one behind the other in positions to engage one of the channel guides 26. The other two shoes are mounted on the other side of the vehicle in position to engage the other channel guide 26. In other words, the lateral spacing of the shoes of each vehicle is the same as that of the spacing between the channel guides 26.

As seen in FIG. 10, the shoes 34 are generally I- shaped in cross section when viewed from the front or rear of the vehicle. The web 36 of the shoe is narrower than the channel guide slot 32 for free entry into the slot with the bottom pad 38 of the shoe extending inside the channel guide.

It will be apparent that upon loading of a vehicle onto a deck 18 of the transport with the shoes 34 in line with the channel guides 26, the lower pad portions 38 of the shoes will enter the channel guides to guide the vehicles during their continued movement to a final loaded position.

A pair of laterally spaced parallel dock channel guides26', identical to the channel guides 26 on the deck of the transport, are fixedly secured upon the dock 16. These dock channel guides 26 extend from a point 42 adjacent the receiving end 40 of the dock to the discharge end 14 thereof and are spaced apart the same distance as the deck channel guides 26 on the rail car. The discharge ends of the dock channel guides 26' are located closely adjacent to the ends of the deck channel guides 26 of the rail car in the loading position of the rail car shown in FIGS. 1 to 5, the space between them being less than the length of a shoe 34 (see FIG. 5) so that the shoes may pass from one pair of channel guides to the other during loading.

Reference is now made particularly to FIGS. and 12 for a description of the mechanism for securing the vehicles in loaded position on the deck 18 of the rail car. Such mechanism includes an elongated locking bar which is disposed within and extends from one end to the other of each channel guide 26. Each of the bars 50 comprises individual elongated tubular bar segments 52.which are arranged in spaced end-to-end relation and are connectedby short tubular sections 54 telescoped within and secured to the adjacent ends of the segments as for example by welding. The bars 50 are supported for rotation by the tubular journals 56 which rotatably receive the connecting sections 54 and are rigidly anchored to the bottom wall of each channel guide 26. The tubular journals 56 restrain the bars 50 from longitudinal movement by contact with the ends of the bar segments 52.

Clamping or locking members 58 are ridigly secured to the segments 52 in longitudinally spaced relation along the length of the bars 50 by any suitable means as for example by welding. Such locking members are spaced apart lengthwise of the rail car distances corresponding to the distance between the shoes on the vehicles V when they are in loaded position on the rail car as shown in FIG. 3. Thus the locking members may be arranged in pairs, with the spacing of each pair the same as the longitudinal spacing of the shoes on each loaded vehicle, and with the spacing between pairs equal to the spacing between the front shoe of one vehicle and the rear shoe of the vehicle immediately ahead of it. Actually each locking bar 50 may have one instead of two locking members 58 per loaded vehicle for engagement with only one of the vehicle shoes.

The locking members 58 are preferably elongated metal parts having the radially outer curved or camshaped surface 60 which is of gradually increasing radius from the leading side 62 to the trailing side 63 thereof. The ends of the locking members 58 have raised abutments 64 provided with the inclined surfaces 66 which face one another to define the ends of the cam surface 60 and provide a progressively narrowing throat engageable with the ends of a shoe during locking of the shoe in place. The throat provided by cam surfaces 60 is relatively wide at the entrant end 60 to accommodate possible slight shoe misalignment, but at the narrow end it closely confines the ends of the shoe when the shoe is clamped.

FIG. 10 shows the bar 50 in two positions of rotation. In the one position, the locking members 58 are retracted as shown in dot-dash lines and in the other position the locking members 58 are advanced as shown in solid lines to an operative position clamping the pads 38 of shoes 34 against the top wall of the channel guide 26 to secure the vehicle against movement. All of the locking members 58 occupy the same circumferential 5 position on each bar 50 so that all clamp the vehicle shoes at the same time when the bar 50 is turned to the clamping position, and all unclamp at the same time when the bar is turned to retracted position. It will be apparent that as the bar 50 is rotated counterclockwise to its operative position, the cam surface 60 engages the bottom of a shoe pad 38 and gradually lifts it into clamped engagement with the top wall of the channel guide 60. The tapered surfaces 66 of the end abutments 64 guide the ends of the shoe pad into the throat of the locking member and in the final or locked position shown in solid lines in FIG. 10 and also shown in FIG. 12, the surfaces 66 confine the shoe against longitudinal movement. Hence the surfaces 66 make up for any slight initial misalignment of the vehicle shoes prior to locking.

The abutments 64 on the end of each locking member are notched on their radially outer surfaces to provide stops 70 engageable' with the wall of slot 32 formed by one of the inturned flanges 30 to prevent counterclockwise rotation of the locking bar 50 substantially beyond the operative or locking position shown in solid lines in FIG. 10.

The ends of the locking bar 50 are preferably disposed substantially flush with the ends of channel guides 26 and with the ends of the deck 18 of the rail car and are closed by plates 72 which have square or non-circular openings 74 adapted to receive the end of a tool or crank 77 by means of which the bar 50 may readily be rotated manually between retracted and locking positions. These apertures 74, being located at the ends of the rail car, make it convenient for a workman to insert a tool into either aperture 74 to lock or unlock the vehicles without entering the rail car.

If the locking bar is considered too long for convenient operation from one end, it may if desired be cut in half, that is transversely severed at or near the midpoint, in which event the locking members adjacent one end of the rail car would be simultaneously operated by one of the locking bar halves, and the locking members adjacent the other end of the rail car would be simultaneously operated by the other locking bar half.

Reference is now made in particular to FIGS. 5, 6, 8, 10 and 11 for a description of the mechanism for loading the vehicles onto the deck 18 of the rail car. Such mechanism comprises the reciprocable loader 75 including the elongated bars 76 which are here shown as being in the form of tubular members connected at their rear ends by a cross member 78. The bars 76 are guided for reciprocation by the tracks or channels 80 which are rigidly secured lengthwise upon the deck 18 of the rail car in parallel relation to the channel guides 26 on the inboard sides thereof. The open ends of channels 80 terminate substantially flush with the ends of the deck 18.

Each channel 80 has the laterally spaced upright side walls 82 terminating at their upper ends in horizontally inturned flanges 84 whose inner edges are spaced apart to define an elongated slot 86 extending from end to end of the channel.

Each elongated loading bar 76 has a plurality of pusher dogs 88 pivoted thereto at longitudinally spaced points by vertical pivot pins 90. The number of dogs on each bar 76 is equal to the number of vehicles to be loaded on deck 18. Dogs 88 are in the form of horizontal bell crank levers, one arm 92 of which is disposed within the tubular bar 76 and the other arm 94 of which extends through the slot 96 in loading bar 76 over the top of the adjacent channel guide 26. The opposite wall of the loading bar 76 also has a slot 98 for clearing the end of arm 92 and for determining the limits of its pivotal movement.

The dogs 88 on each loading bar 76 are spaced apart a distance equal to the distance between the rear shoes on adjacent vehicles V when the vehicles are spaced apart the proper distance for loading as shown in FIGS.

1 to 4. In other words, assuming the vehicles are of the same length, the distance between pusher dogs 88 on each loading bar 76 corresponds to the length of a vehicle plus the distance between successive vehicles in the line.-

.The dogs 88 may pivot between the solid and dotted line positions shown in FIG. 11. In the solid line position the arm 94 of each dog extends across the top of the associated channel guide 26 in a position to engage the rear end of a shoe 34 to advance the vehicle onto the rail car. Tension springs 100 are provided normally to urge the pusher dogs to the solid line or operative position in which the end of the arms 92 contact the front ends of slots 98. Such tension springs are secured at one end to the arms 92 and at the other end 102 are secured to the top wall of the loading bar 76. The dogs are capable of retracting to the dotted line position of FIG. 11 against the tension of springs 100, the limit of retraction being determined by contact of the end of arm 92 with the rear edge of slot 98. Thus the dogs are capable of camming past the vehicle shoes 34 upon retraction of the loading bars 76.

A plurality of brackets 106 are rigidly secured at longitudinally spaced points to the loading bars. The brackets are generally of the inverted U shaped shown in FIG. and extend downwardly into channels 80 through slots 86. At their lower extremities, the brackeets have outwardly and upwardly turned terminal portions 108 which extend under the inturned flanges 84 of channels 80 to prevent the loading bars 76 from lifting away from the channels. Such brackets support rollers 110 which roll upon'the bottom walls of the channels 80 to facilitate the reciprocation of the loading bars 76.

Referring particularly to FIG. 6, it will be noted that channels 80', identical to channels 80 are rigidly secured upon the dock 16 parallel to the dock channel guides 26' and on the inboard sides thereof. These channels 80' extend substantially from end to end of the clock 16. When the rail car 10 is backed up to the loading dock as shown in FIGS. 1 to 4, the channels 80 on the rail car are disposed in end-to-end continuation of the dock channels 80', there being only a small space between the adjacent ends so that the reciprocation of the loading bar is effectively guided by one or both of the channels 80, 80' during the full loading and retraction movement of the loading bars.

As seen in FIGS. 1 to 5, the loading bars 76 are slightly greater in length than the overall length of the line of vehicles to be loaded. The cross member 78 connecting the rear ends of the loading bars has secured thereto a pusher 112 carried by the upper reach of a flexible linear member 1 14 which may be a chain or cable. The flexible linear member 114 is disposed length-. wise of the dock and its ends are trained over pulleys 116 mounted on the dock. Any suitable means such as the manually controlled motor M may be provided to orbit the flexible linear member 114 in both clockwise and counterclockwise directions to move the loader from the FIG. 1 position to a position advancing the line of vehicles to loaded position on the rail car and to retract the loader 75 back to its starting position.

Each loading bar 76 is also provided with a plurality of stops 120., the number of stops corresponding to the number of vehicles in the line to be loaded. Each stop comprises a plunger 124 reciprocable in a cylinder 126 secured to the loading bar 76. The stops 120 are disposed transversely with respect to the direction of reciprocation of the loading bars and in their extended positions shown in FIG. 9 the plungers 124 extend across the paths of the shoes 34. In the retracted positions of plungers 124 they are retracted substantially within the cylinders 126 and out of the paths of the shoes. Retraction of the plungers is normally effected by compression springs 128 which press against one end of the cylinders 126 and against plunger heads 130 within the cylinders. Extension of the plungers is effected by fluid pressure admitted to the cylinders 126 through lines 132. As diagrammatically shown in FIG. 5, a manually operated motor-pump source may be provided on the rail car to deliver fluid under pressure through lines 132 to all of the cylinders 126'simultaneously when desired.

The number of stops 124 corresponds with the number of pusher dogs 88. Each of the stops 120 is spaced ahead of a dog 88 by a distance approximating the distance between the two shoes on each side of a vehicle so that when a pusher dog engages: and pushes the rear side of the rear shoe of a vehicle, the plunger 124 of one of the stops engages the front side of a front shoe to prevent the vehicle from rolling ahead of the loader.

The dock 16 is shown on the ground in its lowermost position in FIGS. 1, 2 and 3 at a proper level for loading the lower deck of the rail car. The clock 16 may be raised to an intermediate position. shown in FIG. 4 for loading the middle deck of the rail car, and may also be raised further to an upper position level with the upper deck of the rail car for loading the upper deck. As diagrammatically shown in FIG. 4, piston-cylinder assemblies 130 having vertical cylinders 132 anchored in the ground I and vertically extendable plungers 134 connected to the opposite ends of the dock may be provided for raising the dock to the intermediate FIG. 4

position for loading the middle deck of the rail car and to its upper position for loading the upper deck.

An inclined ramp 136 extending from ground level up to the level of the receiving end of the dock may be provided to enable the vehicles to be driven onto the loading dock when the latter is in its lowermost position. A more steeply inclined ramp 138 is shown in FIG. 4 for driving vehicles onto the dock when the dock is raised to its intermediate position. Another steeper ramp, not shown, may be used to drive vehicles onto the dock when it is raised to its upper position.

In the loading of a line of vehicles, here shown as five vehicles, simultaneously onto the deck 18 of a rail car, the vehicles are first driven up the ramp 136 and onto the dock 16 in substantially the positions shown in FIG.

1. As each vehicle moves onto the receiving end of the dock it is carefully aligned with the guide channels 26 so that the shoes 34 enter the guide channels with'their pads 38 disposed freely beneath the inturned channels 30' thereof (See FIGS. 6 and 7). The dogs 88 will be turned out of the way by the shoes 34 to the dotted line position of FIG. 11 as the vehicles pass, the snapping back to the solid line position.

Since five vehicles are being loaded, the pusher bars 76 each have five pusher dogs 88. The five dogs 88 on one bar are transversely aligned with the five pusher dogs on the other bar. Preferably the vehicles ,V in FIG. 1 are driven slightly ahead of the associated pairs of pusher dogs so that the dogs will snap back to the solid line position of FIG. 11. Thereafter, the drivers are not needed. The motor M may then be operated to move the linear member 114 clockwise sufficiently to bring the dogs into engagement with the rear sides of the rear pads, whereupon the motor-pump unit 114 may be operated to deliver fluid pressure to the lines 132 thus extending the plungers 124 across the fronts of the front shoes 134. Further clockwise orbiting of the flexible member 114 by the motor M causes the line of vehicles to be advanced onto the rail car as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3. During this time, the shoes will pass freely from the dock channel guides 26 to the rail car deck channel guides 26, and the loading bars 76 will move into the channels 80 on the deck of the rail car. Each vehicle pushed by dogs 88 engaging the rear shoes thereof will be restrained from rolling ahead of the dogs by the plungers engaging the front shoes thereof.

After the line of vehicles has been loaded in proper position on the deck 18 of the rail car, a tool 77 may be inserted into the apertures 74 at one end of each locking bar 50 to rotate the locking bars from the dotted line position of FIG. to the solid line position. This action causes the surfaces 60 of the locking members 58 to cam or wedge the pads 38 of shoes 34 up into tight clamped engagement with the inturned flanges 30 of the channel guides 26 thus locking the vehicles securely in predetermined position against movement. The surfaces 66 of the locking members 58 define a narrowing throat which during movement of the locking members to the operative or clamping position to center the shoes 34 longitudinally. The greater width of the throat at the entrant end accommodates initial slight misalignment of the shoes.

Thereafter, the motor pump 140 is operated to release the pressure in lines 132 to allow the plungers 124 to be spring retracted, and the flexible member 114 is then orbited counterclockwise to retract the loader 75 to its starting position. The dogs will be pivoted out of the way by the shoes 34 during such retraction.

The unloading of vehicles from rail cars forms no part of the present disclosure. However, it will be understood that by an arrangement of dogs on a loader similar to the loader 75 which are operable in the opposite direction of loader movement, that is which would engage the shoes on vehicles carried by a rail car during movement of the loader in an outward direction relative to the rail car, and which would cam or swing past the shoes upon inward movement of the loader with respect to the rail car, an unloading operation could be carried out.

to proper position and that a suitable ramp be employed.

What I claim as my invention is:

1. Apparatus for securing a plurality of vehicles on the elongated deck of a transport, comprising guide means including a rail disposed on and extending lengthwise of the deck, shoes mounted on the vehicles, said shoes being guided along said railwhen the vehicles are advanced lengthwise of the deck during loading, and locking means operable to simultaneously engage said shoes of the plurality of vehicles and secure the vehicles on the deck in selected positions, said rail having means engageable with said shoes to restrain upward movement of said shoes relative to said rail and to prevent separation ofsaid shoes from said locking means when engaged thereby.

2. The apparatus defined in claim 1, wherein said locking means comprises locking members located in spaced relation along the length of said rail, said locking members being movable between first and second positions, said locking members in said first position being engageable with said shoes to secure the vehicles as aforesaid and in said second position being disengageable from said shoes to release the vehicles.

3. The apparatus defined in claim 1, wherein said locking means comprises an elongated bar extending parallel to said rail, means supporting said bar for rotation, and means on said bar engageable with said shoes to secure the vehicles as aforesaid when said bar is rotated to a first position and disengageable from said shoes to release the vehicles when said bar is rotated to a second position.

4. The apparatus defined in claim 1, including loading means for moving the vehicles lengthwise along the deck, said loading means comprising a reciprocable elongated member extending parallel to said rail, and dogs carried by said elongated member and engageable with said shoes to move the vehicles as aforesaid.

5. The apparatus defined in claim 1, including loading means for moving the vehicles lengthwise along the deck, said loading means comprising an elongated member, a track on said deck parallel to said rail and adapted to support said elongated member for lengthwise reciprocation, means for reciprocating said elongated member, and dogs carried by said elongated member and engageable with the rear of said shoes to move the vehicles as aforesaid.

6. The apparatus defined in claim 5, including stops carried by said elongated member, said stops being positioned to engage the fronts of the shoes to prevent the vehicles from rolling ahead of said dogs.

7. The apparatus defined in claim 1, including load ing means for moving the vehicles lengthwise along the deck, a loading dock adjacent which said transport is adapted to be positioned for loading vehicles from said dock onto the deck of the transport, said dock having guide means including a rail disposed in end-to-end continuation of said rail on the deck of the transport when the latter is in position for loading, said shoes being engageable with said dock rail and movable therealong into engagement with said deck rail during the loading of vehicles from said dock to the deck of the transport, said loading means being adapted to move the vehicles along said dock lengthwise of said dock rail and thereafter onto the deck of the transport.

8. The apparatus defined in claim 7, wherein said rails are in the form of channels disposed end to end when the transport is in loading position, said channels each having upwardly extending side walls terminating in inturned flanges which define a slot open at both ends, said shoes having pads adapted to extend into said channels through said slots.

9. The apparatus defined in claim 8, wherein said locking means comprises an elongated bar supported for rotation within the channel on the deck of the transport, camshaped locking members on said bar engageable with said pads to cam said pads into clamped engagement with said inturned flanges to secure the vehicles as aforesaid in a first position of rotation of said bar and disengageable from said pads to release the vehicles in a second position of rotation of said bar.

10. The apparatus defined in claim 9, wherein said loading means comprises an elongated member, a track on said dock, a track on said deck extending parallel to said channel thereon, said tracks being disposed end to end when the transport is in loading position, said tracks being adapted to support said elongated member for lengthwise reciprocation continuously from one track to the other, and dogs carried by said elongated member and engageable with the rear of said shoes to move the vehicles as aforesaid.

11. The apparatus defined in claim 10, including re tractable stops carried by said elongated member, said stops being positioned to engage the fronts of the shoes to prevent the vehicles from rolling ahead of said dogs, and means for retracting said stops.

12. Apparatus for securing a plurality of vehicles on the elongated deck of a transport, comprising guide means including a channel disposed on and extending lengthwise of the deck, shoes mounted on the vehicles, said shoes being engageable with and having pads adapted to extend into said channel and being movable therealong when the vehicles are advanced lengthwise of the deck during loading, locking means comprising an elongated bar extending parallel to and within said channel, means supporting said bar for rotation, and means on said bar simultaneously engageable with said shoes to clamp said pads against said channel and secure the vehicles on the deck in selected positions when said bar is rotated to a first position and disengageable from said shoes to release the vehicles when said bar is rotated to a second position.

13. Apparatus for securing a plurality of vehicles on the elongated deck of a transport, comprising guide means including a tubular member having an elongated slot in its top wall and disposed on and extending lengthwise of the deck, shoes mounted on the vehicles, said shoes being engageable with and having pads adapted to extend into said tubular member through said lost and being movable therealong when the vehicles are advanced lengthwise of the deck during loading, locking means comprising an elongated bar extending parallel to and within said tubular member,

said bar comprising cam-shaped locking members simultaneously engageable with said shoes to cam said pads into clamped engagement with the top wall of said tubular member and secure the vehicles on the deck in selected positions when said bar is rotated to a first position and disengageable from said shoes to release the vehicles when said bar is rotated to a second position.

14. The apparatus defined in claim 13, wherein said locking members each having inclined end portions engageable with the ends of a pad during movement of said bar to its first position to longitudinally locate the pad as it is clamped.

15. The apparatus defined in claim 14, wherein said bar has an end adjacent one end of the deck provided with means accessible from outside the rail car by which said bar may be rotated between said first and second positions.

16. Apparatus for securing a plurality of vehicles on the deck of a transport, comprising guide means including a rail disposed on and extending lengthwise of the deck, shoes carried by the vehicles, said shoes being guided along said rail when the vehicles are advanced lengthwise of the deck, said rail having means engageable with said shoes to restrain upward movement of said shoes relative to said rail, and locking means movable from a retracted position to an operative position simultaneously engaging said shoes of the plurality of vehicles to secure the vehicles on the deck in selected positions.

17. The apparatus defined in claim 16, wherein said locking means in said operative position clamps said shoes against said rail.

18. Apparatus for securing a plurality of vehicles on the deck of a transport, comprising guide means including a rail disposed on and extending lengthwise of the deck, shoes carried by the vehicles, said shoes being guided along said rail when the vehicles are advanced lengthwise of the deck, said rail having means engageable with said shoes to restrain upward movement of said shoes relative to said rail, locking means movable from a retracted position to anoperative position en gaging said shoes of the plurality of vehicles to secure the vehicles on the deck in selected positions, and means accessible from a position adjacent an edge of the deck for moving said locking means between retracted and operative positions means supporting said bar for rotation and means on Patent No.

Inventor (s) UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION 3,797,410 Dated March 19, 1974 DQNALD J. BLUNDEN It is certified that error appears in the above-identified patent and that said Letters Patent are hereby corrected as shownbelow:

In the heading of the patent, the Assignee is shown as "Whitehead 5; Kalis Company, River Ridge, Mich." and should read Whitehead & Kales Company, River Rouge,

Signed and sealed this 30th day of July 1971.

(SEAL) Attest MCCOY M. GIBSON, JR. I c. MARSHALL DANN Attesting Officer Commissioner of Patents USCOMM-DC 60376-P69 u.s. covnmaznr PRINTING ornc: no o-."l-Ju. 

1. Apparatus for securing a plurality of vehicles on the elongated deck of a transport, comprising guide means including a rail disposed on and extending lengthwise of the deck, shoes mounted on the vehicles, said shoes being guided along said rail when the vehicles are advanced lengthwise of the deck during loading, and locking means operable to simultaneously engage said shoes of the plurality of vehicles and secure the vehicles on the deck in selected positions, said rail having means engageable with said shoes to restrain upward movement of said shoes relative to said rail and to prevent separation of said shoes from said locking means when engaged thereby.
 2. The apparatus defined in claim 1, wherein said locking means comprises locking members located in spaced relation along the length of said rail, said locking members being movable between first and second positions, said locking members in said first position being engageable with said shoes to secure the vehicles as aforesaid and in said second position being disengageable from said shoes to release the vehicles.
 3. The apparatus defined in claim 1, wherein said locking means comprises an elongated bar extending parallel to said rail, means supporting said bar for rotation, and means on said bar engageable with said shoes to secure the vehicles as aforesaid when said bar is rotated to a first position and disengageable from said shoes to release the vehicles when said bar is rotated to a second position.
 4. The apparatus defined in claim 1, including loading means for moving the vehicles lengthwise along the deck, said loading means comprising a reciprocable elongated member extending parallel to said rail, and dogs carried by said elongated member and engageable with said shoes to move the vehicles as aforesaid.
 5. The apparatus defined in claim 1, including loading means for moving the vehicles lengthwise along the deck, said loading means comprising an elongated member, a track on said deck parallel to said rail and adapted to support said elongated member for lengthwise reciprocation, means for reciprocating said elongated member, and dogs carried by said elongated member and engageable with the rear of said shoes to move the vehicles as aforesaid.
 6. The apparatus defined in claim 5, including stops carried by said elongated member, said stops being positioned to engage the fronts of the shoes to prevent the vehicles from rolling ahead of said dogs.
 7. The apparatus defined in claim 1, including loading means for moving the vehicles lengthwise along the deck, a loading dock adjacent which said transport is adapted to be positioned for loading vehicles from said dock onto the deck of the transport, said dock having guide means including a rail disposed in end-to-end continuation of said rail on the deck of the transport when the latter is in position for loading, said shoes being engageable with said dock rail and movable therealong into engagement with said deck rail during the loading of vehicles from said dock to the deck of the transport, said loading means being adapted to move the vehicles along said dock lengthwise of said dock rail and thereafter onto the deck of the transport.
 8. The apparatus defined in claim 7, wherein said rails are in the form of channels disposed end to end when the transport is in loading position, said channels each having upwardly extending side walls terminating in inturned flanges which define a slot open at both ends, said shoes having pads adapted to extend into said channels through said slots.
 9. The apparatus defined in claim 8, wherein said locking means comprises an elongated bar supported for rotation within the channel on the deck of the transport, cam-shaped locking members on said bar engageable with said pads to cam said pads into clamped engagement with said inturned flanges to secure the vehicles as aforesaid in a first position of rotation of said bar and disengageable from said pads to release the vehicles in a second position of rotation of said bar.
 10. The apparatus defined in claim 9, wherein said loading means comprises an elongated member, a track on said dock, a track on said deck extending parallel to said channel thereon, said tracks being disposed end to end when the transport is in loading position, said tracks being adapted to support said elongated member for lengthwise reciprocation continuously from one track to the other, and dogs carried by said elongated member and engageable with the rear of said shoes to move the vehicles as aforesaid.
 11. The apparatus defined in claim 10, including retractable stops carried by said elongated member, said stops being positioned to engage the fronts of the shoes to prevent the vehicles from rolling ahead of said dogs, and means for retracting said stops.
 12. Apparatus for securing a plurality of vehicles on the elongated deck of a transport, comprising guide means including a channel disposed on and extending lengthwise of the deck, shoes mounted on the vehicles, said shoes being engageable with and having pads adapted to extend into said channel and being movable therealong when the vehicles are advanced lengthwise of the deck during loading, locking means comprising an elongated bar extending parallel to and within said channel, means supporting said bar for rotation, and means on said bar simultaneously engageable with said shoes to clamp said pads against said channel and secure the vehicles on the deck in selected positions when said bar is rotated to a first position and disengageable from said shoes to release the vehicles when said bar is rotated to a second position.
 13. Apparatus for securing a plurality of vehicles on the elongated deck of a transport, comprising guide means including a tubular member having an elongated slot in its top wall and disposed on and extending lengthwise of the deck, shoes mounted on the vehicles, said shoes being engageable with and having pads adapted to extend into said tubular member through said lost and being movable therealong when the vehicles are advanced lengthwise of the deck during loading, locking means comprising an elongated bar extending parallel to and within said tubular member, means supporting said bar for rotation and means on said bar comprising cam-shaped locking members simultaneously engageable with said shoes to cam said pads into clamped engagement with the top wall of said tubular member and secure the vehicles on the deck in selected positions when said bar is rotated to a first position and disengageable from said shoes to release the vehicles when said bar is rotated to a second position.
 14. The apparatus defined in claim 13, wherein said locking members each having inclined end portions engageable with the ends of a pad during movement of said bar to its first position to longituDinally locate the pad as it is clamped.
 15. The apparatus defined in claim 14, wherein said bar has an end adjacent one end of the deck provided with means accessible from outside the rail car by which said bar may be rotated between said first and second positions.
 16. Apparatus for securing a plurality of vehicles on the deck of a transport, comprising guide means including a rail disposed on and extending lengthwise of the deck, shoes carried by the vehicles, said shoes being guided along said rail when the vehicles are advanced lengthwise of the deck, said rail having means engageable with said shoes to restrain upward movement of said shoes relative to said rail, and locking means movable from a retracted position to an operative position simultaneously engaging said shoes of the plurality of vehicles to secure the vehicles on the deck in selected positions.
 17. The apparatus defined in claim 16, wherein said locking means in said operative position clamps said shoes against said rail.
 18. Apparatus for securing a plurality of vehicles on the deck of a transport, comprising guide means including a rail disposed on and extending lengthwise of the deck, shoes carried by the vehicles, said shoes being guided along said rail when the vehicles are advanced lengthwise of the deck, said rail having means engageable with said shoes to restrain upward movement of said shoes relative to said rail, locking means movable from a retracted position to an operative position engaging said shoes of the plurality of vehicles to secure the vehicles on the deck in selected positions, and means accessible from a position adjacent an edge of the deck for moving said locking means between retracted and operative positions. 